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The Latest: Judge upholds UK arrest warrant for Assange

on February 13, 2018

Photo: Frank Augstein, AP

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FILE - In this May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures to supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been in self imposed exile since 2012. A British judge on Tuesday Feb. 13, 20-18 is scheduled to quash or uphold an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than five years inside Ecuador's London embassy. Assange's lawyers argue that it's no longer in the public interest to arrest him for jumping bail in 2012. Assange was wanted in Sweden for a rape investigation when he sought protection in the Ecuadorean embassy. Swedish prosecutors dropped the case last year, but the British warrant still stands. less

FILE - In this May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures to supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been in self imposed exile since 2012. A British judge on ... more

Photo: Frank Augstein, AP

The Latest: Judge upholds UK arrest warrant for Assange

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LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the British arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (all times local):

8:00 p.m.

The British judge who upheld an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange didn't mince words when she gave her ruling in a London court.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot said Tuesday that by jumping bail in 2012 Assange had made "a determined attempt to avoid the order of the court."

She said Assange "appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favor."

The judge's remarks drew exclamations of dismay from Assange supporters in the public gallery.

Assange can seek to appeal, though his lawyers did not immediately say whether he would.

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2:40 p.m.

A British judge has upheld an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than five years evading the law inside Ecuador's London embassy.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot wasn't persuaded by arguments by Assange's lawyers that it was no longer in the public interest to arrest him for jumping bail in 2012 and seeking shelter in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made by two women. He denied the allegations.

Arbuthnot said Tuesday she finds "arrest is a proportionate response" to Assange's actions.

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10:25 a.m.

A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is citing a report by a United Nations committee to argue that a British arrest warrant issued in 2012 after Assange skipped bail should be thrown out.

Lawyer Mark Summers said the U.N. committee's report concluded that Assange was being arbitrarily detained, adding that the 5½ years Assange has spent inside Ecuador's London embassy are "adequate, if not severe" punishment for his actions.

Some lawyers who have followed the case said the arguments were unlikely to sway the judge who is set to rule on Tuesday afternoon whether to quash or uphold the warrant.

Even if the judge lifts the British arrest warrant, Assange's legal problems may not be over. He suspects there is a secret U.S. grand jury indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents, and that American authorities will seek his extradition.

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7:00 a.m.

A British judge is scheduled to quash or uphold an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than five years inside Ecuador's London embassy to avoid detention.

Assange's lawyers argue that it's no longer in the public interest to arrest him for jumping bail in 2012. Judge Emma Arbuthnot is expected to rule Tuesday afternoon.

Assange was wanted in Sweden for a rape investigation when he sought protection in the Ecuadorean embassy. Swedish prosecutors dropped the investigation last year, but the British warrant for violating bail conditions still stands.

Assange's lawyers asked for the warrant to be withdrawn since Sweden no longer wants him extradited, but the judge rejected their request last week.